Suspected Austin bomber called himself a ‘psychopath’ in confession tape: congressman

Austin police spokeswoman Anna Sabana said neither roommate has been charged. Law enforcement officials warn residents in Austin and surrounding communities to be vigilant and report anything suspicious.

Manley said they aren’t releasing who those packages were being sent to, but says law enforcement has been in touch with them.On the same day, local and federal authorities confirmed the serial bomber sent two packages from the FedEx shipping store on Brodie Lane.

Conditt described himself as a “psychopath”, said he had been disturbed since childhood, and threatened to blow himself up inside a crowded McDonald’s restaurant if he thought he was about to be caught, the newspaper reported. His death follows a series of explosions in the Austin-area over the span of three weeks.

In other words, the white, Christian homeschooled bomber that killed two people and injured several others by sending them five bombs over 19 days was not a terrorist, but simply “a very challenged young man”.

Austin Police Department interim Chief Brian Manley said police recovered a cellphone from Conditt’s auto that had a 25-minute recorded confession on it.

A top FedEx executive says the company provided key evidence that helped identify the suspect in the bombings around Austin.

The trail to Conditt included many dead ends among more than 500 phoned-in tips.

Conditt described the bombs “with a level of specificity”, including their differences, Manley said.

Relatives also wondered whether a family connection played a role: Houses stepfather is friends with Masons grandfather Norman, and both are prominent fixtures in the black community. “We believe it’s random off our website because he listed her as the manager, that’s how she’s listed on our website”, said Ward. “Our family is a normal family in every way”, said an aunt, Shanee, who declined to give her last name, in a family statement.

Investigators are still working to determine a motive for the bombings and whether there were accomplices.

“We’re never going to be able to put a (rationale) behind these acts”, Manley said.

A week later, they were. The warning flooded 911 operators with more than 1,000 calls.

Manley said that within seconds, the suspect had detonated a bomb in his auto, blasting the officers backward before one officer fired his weapon at the suspect. Hours later, another explosion seemed to be his answer.

Unlike the previous blasts, it was not a package outside a home. The new location dampened earlier theories about who the bomber was targeting.

Although the hunt for the suspected mastermind is over, authorities worry Conditt may have left more explosives around Austin. Investigators discovered a roughly 25-minute recording that Conditt had made on his cell phone allegedly confessing to the crimes.

“It turned out that the perpetrator had a mental illness and was attempting to make the bombing a big smiley face on a map”, says Lincoln.

By Tuesday night, police began closing in on Conditt’s home in suburban Pflugerville. “That being the one he had on him this morning that he detonated as our officers approached”. That’s when he ended his life by setting off one of his own devices inside the vehicle.

Round Rock police said all lanes of southbound Interstate 35 from FM 3406 and Old Settlers Road to USA 79 and Sam Bass Road would be closed Wednesday morning while police investigate.

“He turned it on”. After Conditt’s cellphone was tracked, a chase ensued.